So down the rabbit hole we shall go… This topic has been hashed and rehashed a million times over, but I don’t think I’m alone when I (still!) panic a little when a cashier asks the inevitable “Paper or plastic today?” Or how I say “Neither, thank you, I brought my own” as I happily plop my reusable bag on the counter. So which is the best choice? As it turns out, none of the most commonly available are great. Here’s a quick breakdown of each:
Plastic
Most plastic bags are made from a derivative of natural gas called polyethylene, which is a non-renewable resource. Strike one. They aren’t biodegradable and although they might photo-degrade (this requires exposure to a fairly specific set of conditions), even then it could take 500-1000 years to “assimilate” back into the soil. Strike two. Although plastic bags are recyclable, an estimated 94% of them still end up in landfills or our oceans. Strike three. So is the lowly plastic bag out?
Consider this: The production of plastic bags uses less energy - often produced by burning coal which is a major contributor to air pollution, not to mention the extensive environmental impact coal mining has in general - and less potable water, and also emits fewer greenhouse gases and produces less solid waste than producing paper bags with 30% recycled content. Some estimates suggest that plastics recycling has increased by 300% in the past four years and that the actual process of recycling plastic bags requires very little energy and produces little to no pollution. Within seconds they are turned into little pellets that are used to make a variety of products from building materials to “new” plastic bags.
So, I suppose, the plastic bag may be down but not totally out…
Paper
Paper bags, even those with recycled content, require a lot of trees to produce. And the process is long and fraught with environmental pitfalls, like the ecological consequences of clearing even a small area, the need for roads to haul the felled trees which further disrupts habitat, and the tremendous amount of fossil fuels required for the shipment and production of paper. Let’s not get into the amount of potable water and harmful chemicals used to get wood ready to be paper, just suffice it to say that it’s pretty staggering. In fact, even the recycling process requires the use of a significant amount of chemicals, but many facilities either treat the polluted water or isolate the resulting sludge, clean it, and reuse it instead of sending it into our waterways.
***However***
Paper bags are easily and often reused and recycled. Should they end up in landfills they will, albeit over many years, biodegrade. There are also lots of ways to repurpose them: try using them as a weed barrier in your garden, as book covers or wrapping paper, or tear them into strips and throw them in your compost heap.
Reusable non-woven polypropylene totes
Well well well… I certainly thought that these were the answer to the great debate, especially because you could conveniently and inexpensively buy them at nearly every check-out counter. But oh, isn’t there always something?!?
Here’s the deal with these: They are plastic. Often produced in faraway countries with lax or nonexistent environmental regulations. Then they have to be shipped here. It has become more commonly known that these countries (think China, Vietnam, etc.) don’t have labor laws that protect workers from exposure to toxins, nor do they pay fair wages. They are inexpensive for a reason, dear readers. If these totes are recyclable, it is often not known because the content is not clearly or consistently disclosed on the tags. Many of them are not washable, and there’s been lots of press lately about the yuck that can grow in them. So, while they do last a long time their ultimate resting place is unknown and they carry with them all sorts of thorns that can get stuck in our social consciousness’.
So what to dooooooooo?
Ideally we should use bags made from sustainable and organically produced natural fibers that can be laundered, have at least some recycled content, and are made in the U.S. Is this feasible? Yep. Easy? Maybe not so much.
We have gone round and round about what kind of bags to provide for our customers here at
re•volve. While we would LOVE to put your new-to-you clothes and accessories in the above “ideal” bag, unfortunately it is abysmally cost prohibitive. We’ll keep working toward it, but in the meantime we have decided to use 100% recycled non-inked made-in-the-USA plastic bags. We have questioned and re-questioned our decision, pulling apart the sticky mess that stigma makes of any fact and, although tenuous, we stand by our choice. So maybe instead of straight demonizing the plastic bag we should all make a serious commitment to
always recycle them. Check out the
last link in the sources list below for the summaries of some comparative studies done on the impact of plastic versus paper bag production as well as articles that debunk some of the more egregious myths – it kinda blew our stigmatized minds, maybe it’ll do the same to you. And if not, please leave a comment so we can have some meaningful conversation around this. In any case we’d love for you to bring in your own bag of any sort or even use no bag at all, and if you do we’ll give you a
bauble that benefits!
Thanks for sticking with us – knowledge, while sometimes uncomfortable, is powerful. Especially when it calls into question everything you thought you knew about something! Sorry about the cliché, but this stuff gets you thinking, yes?
Sources:
